Barney Frank

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Barney's Big Surprise

A working-class hero goes down kvetching. Plus, new hope in the fight against AIDS.
Long before The Sopranos and Jersey Shore introduced the nation to the ripe effusions of the New Jersey personality, voters in and around greater Boston had accepted Barney Frank as one of the more unusual players in the political game.
By EDITORIAL | November 30, 2011

Boston's last congressman?

Musical chairs dept.
At the moment, neither the Senate president nor the Speaker of the House lives in the city. And in two years, the unthinkable could become reality: Boston might not have a single congressman residing in its borders.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | August 31, 2011

By | January 01, 0001

Frank talk

Letters to the Boston editors, August 12, 2011
I was pleased to see Harvey Silverglate's story about the collaboration between myself and Ron Paul in the effort to remove all federal criminal restrictions on personal marijuana use.
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | August 10, 2011

Are Civil (Liberties) Unions America's Best Hope?

Freedom Watch
Ron Paul and Barney Frank make odd bedfellows, but one hopes theirs is more than a one-night-stand.
By HARVEY A. SILVERGLATE AND DANIEL R. SCHWARTZ | July 13, 2011

Ten Little Congressmen . . .

The outlook for each of Mass.'s Representatives
Each of Massachusetts's 10 congressmen — soon to be nine, following next year's redistricting — are looking at the House shakeup from their own career perspectives.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 17, 2010

Minority Blues

Massachusetts's Democratic Congressmen won their elections, but lost their power. What will they do in John Boehner's House?
The historic national Republican wave, which saw the GOP gain at least 64 seats in the US House of Representatives, seemed to skip Massachusetts, which elected Democrats in all 10 congressional districts.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 17, 2010

C. Tsar's

The former Ariadne goes back to basics
It can be very good when a fine chef moves downmarket, adding focus and financial discipline to pure talent.
By ROBERT NADEAU | November 10, 2010

Celebrity gossip

Candidates in their final, desperate moments
In the final days of a tight gubernatorial race, the campaigns tend to get desperate, then frantic, then crazy. That progression leads to increasingly wacky attacks on the opposition, few of which turn out to be true, although many of them ought to be.
By AL DIAMON | October 27, 2010

Boston Phoenix 2010 Endorsements: Steve Grossman, Martha Coakley, and Barney Frank

Plus, more endorsements and the ballot questions
Far too often, politics is the act of trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. This election, voters have the unique chance of choosing a candidate who is a perfect fit for the office he seeks. That is why we endorse Democrat STEVE GROSSMAN for treasurer.
By EDITORIAL | November 01, 2010

Elephant in the Room?

Republicans are expected to take dozens of US House seats this year — some may even be in Massachusetts
The upcoming national midterm elections are shaping up as a big Republican wave.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | October 13, 2010

By | January 01, 0001

Kooks on classics

Out of Tune Dept.
It turns out that some local LaRouchies have talents beyond a knack for public harassment
By CHRIS FARAONE | August 16, 2010

You call this winning?

Afghanistan complications multiply. Plus, Congress is heading for a weak wrap-up.
President Barack Obama scored.
By EDITORIAL | June 30, 2010

Massachusetts: You might be living in a red state if

31 signs that Scott Brown’s victory is changing the face of the commonwealth for the worse
Scott Brown’s Senatorial victory is merely the latest sign that red tides are creeping upon our once-progressive Commonwealth. Don’t believe us? Consider that Kenny Chesney sells out Gillette Stadium every summer, and, of course, that wealthy Republican presidential hopeful with the fantastic hair was recently our Governor.
By CHRIS FARAONE | January 25, 2010

By | January 01, 0001

We're killing the oceans

Is it too late to save the seas that sustain us?
I meet world-renowned undersea photojournalist Brian Skerry at Legal Seafoods, across from the New England Aquarium, where he's the explorer in residence. He orders a chicken Caesar salad.
By MIKE MILIARD | November 18, 2009

Taking sides

The US Senate election is forcing Massachusetts pols to choose their team. Plus, Pagliuca’s plan, and the state GOP tries to get serious.
The stakes are high in the battle for Massachusetts’s first new US senatorship in a quarter-century.
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | November 04, 2009

Review: Capitalism: A Love Story

Moore of the same: Capitalism fails to make a prophet
In his new film about the Wall Street meltdown, Michael Moore — surprise! — denounces capitalism and its exploitation of the working class. Not that he's above doing a little exploiting himself.
By PETER KEOUGH | September 29, 2009

Six for the seat

After a tumultuous week, these half dozen are still in the mix for Kennedy's seat.
Over the next few months, as candidates for the US Senate travel the state, you're likely to hear them say again and again that nobody can ever truly replace Ted Kennedy. That's the truth. But what does the state want next, after such a legendary, larger-than-life figure?
By DAVID S. BERNSTEIN | September 16, 2009

Power puffs

Letters to the Boston editor, July 24, 2009
Regarding “ Weed Picking Up Speed ”: if health outcomes determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco.
By BOSTON PHOENIX LETTERS | July 22, 2009

King, as in mayor

Another page from an optimist's agenda
To begin with, I'd like to set down the political and ideological frame of reference under which I try to live.
By TOM SHEEHAN | July 13, 2009

Weed picking up speed?

Just say now
When the Phoenix published a cover story about the potential tipping point in the fight to end marijuana prohibition, we smelled something in the air: it seemed more than ever that such a resolution might be possible.
By MIKE MILIARD | July 09, 2009

Gay deceivers

Outrage isn't outrageous enough
The California State Supreme Court just upheld Proposition 8, denying gay people the right to marriage. This should disabuse the complacent of the illusion that the religious right has relinquished its death grip on America. So, too, should Kirby Dick's documentary about the homophobic power of closeted right-wing politicians in America.
By PETER KEOUGH | June 04, 2009

Legalize pot now

With support from the unlikeliest circles, this could be marijuana's moment
The Obama administration, already overtaxed with two foreign campaigns, made headlines this past week when the White House's newly minted director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy called for an end to the "War on Drugs."
By MIKE MILIARD | June 01, 2009

Sunshine on the ACLU: a mea culpa

Freedom Watch
"Standing up to your political enemies is easy, fun, and often profitable," writes Barney Frank, on the lead jacket blurb for Worst Instincts: Cowardice, Conformity, and the ACLU.
By HARVEY SILVERGLATE | May 06, 2009

Hemp — the law, the musical

Dept. of Really Strange Bedfellows
When liberal congressmen like Barney Frank begin co-sponsoring bills with libertarians like Ron Paul, there must be something funny in the air.
By CHRIS FARAONE | April 29, 2009

Giles is one tough cookie

Plus economic outrage, the clueless Pope, and listening to 'The Angry Man'
Phillipe and Jorge could not be more pleased to hear that President Barack Obama has nominated Cynthia Giles, the director of Rhode Island's branch of the Conservation Law Founda-tion.
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | March 25, 2009